Anzhi & PSG power a Premier League worry

The financial lure of mega-rich Anzhi Makhachkala has, once again, come into sharp focus as Guus Hiddink reportedly heads to Russia to become their new manager.

According to Goal.com, the experienced Dutchman has agreed an 18-month contract to succeed Andrei Gordeyev at the Dinamo Stadium helm, and will join up with his new charges immediately.

Hiddink has not held a full-time post for six years, having been an international manager of varying success since leaving PSV Eindhoven for Australia in 2006.

The 65-year-old had been linked with a move to Chelsea as doubts hang over the future of Andre Villas-Boas, but he has instead penned a deal worth a reported €10 million-a-year.

Fabio Capello had been a target for Anzhi, it was claimed, after he relinquished his role as England boss but, in Hiddink, they have a manager with a proven track record.

This, of course, is not the first time Anzhi have demonstrated their significant financial clout since being purchased by billionaire local businessman Suleyman Kerimov little over a year ago.

In the summer of last year, Anzhi completed the signing of Samuel Eto'o from Inter Milan for €28 million and, in the process, the Cameroon striker became the highest paid player in the world.

There were doubters when Kerimov first took the reigns in Dagestan that he could lure the game's elite to a Russian side with no real profile or history, but they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the riches of the English game, Anzhi's willingness and eagerness to spend may prove to be a worry to some in the Premier League when the transfer window opens once again at the end of the season.

Although some may beg to differ, every player has his price and a number of the English game's top stars are likely to be on the transfer shortlist - or long-list - of Kerimov and Hiddink.

Roberto Carlos, captain and assistant manager at Anzhi, has previously claimed that both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are targets, and who is to say Liverpool and Chelsea will not have their respective resolves tested?

And, although it would seem that Lampard's days at Stamford Bridge are numbered anyway, his capture could be the marquee signing to encourage others to join the Russian revolution.

There will, of course, also be the serious competition in the transfer market nouveau-riche Paris Saint-Germain, who have already demonstrated their sizeable financial power.

PSG paid €42 million to secure the signature of Javier Pastore from Palermo last summer; an exorbitant transfer fee given the Argentine's relative inexperience.

And, with well-respected Carlo Ancelotti now at the helm in Paris and Champions League football a virtual guarantee for next season, moving to the Parc des Princes looks more appealing than ever before.

PSG already appear to be making plans for their millions during the next transfer window and, according to The Telegraph, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is in Ancelotti's sights.

Liverpool, of course, maintain they have no intention of letting Suarez leave Anfield - despite recent controversy - but a significant offer could lead them to reconsider their current stance.

There is also the possibility that the Reds would not be able to offer Suarez European football next season, and the chance to play in the Champions League with PSG may turn the head of the Uruguayan.

Liverpool are clearly a club in the ascendency and establishing themselves as European superpowers is surely an inevitability but, such is Suarez's unpredictability, it would be foolish to suggest he would not consider jumping ship should he receive a better offer.

The Premier League landscape could look very different before the start of next season.

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